Trump news: President threatens Portland protesters with ‘strong offensive force’ as White House condemns delay of Hong Kong elections
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Donald Trump has threatened Portland protesters with "very strong offensive force" as the federal government and residents continue to clash in the liberal city. The president warned he might send the National Guard to stop the "terrorists" in the city.
In Albuquerque, meanwhile, activists vowed to meet federal agents with peaceful protests and civil disobedience as Trump said the government's response would expand to more cities, including Detroit, Cleveland and Milwaukee.
This comes as White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has slammed China for delaying Hong Kong elections, even though that is what Mr Trump suggested on Twitter for the United States' own presidential election.
Mr Trump refused to back down from his controversial suggestion that November's election be postponed despite an outcry among his fellow Republicans, insisting "I don't want to see a crooked election", as he continues to claim mail-in voting - a likely necessity given the coronavirus outbreak - is vulnerable to fraud.
Dr Anthony Fauci testified before lawmakers about the Trump administration's coronavirus response, with the president praising a line of questioning from Republican Jim Jordan. The infectious disease expert was asked he wouldn't make a recommendation on the virus spreading at protests after while he was quick to make recommendations about baseball.
The CDC is forecasting 173,000 deaths by mid-August. Democrats and Republicans are expected to meet on Saturday to discuss the next coronavirus relief package after Trump tweeted criticism at Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer for failing to reach an agreement by Friday.
Trump secretly recorded boasting about how many retweets he got for backing Confederate-named base
Donald Trump has been recorded calling a Republican senator to boast about the praise he received on Twitter for saying bases named for Confederate army officers should not be altered.
The senator, Jim Inhofe, of Oklahoma, received his call from Mr Trump while dining at an Italian restaurant in Washington, DC. Mr Inhofe put the call on speakerphone, apparently to hear it better, and inadvertently allowed Mr Trump to be heard by other patrons – one of whom recorded the exchange and sent it to the New York Times.
On the recording, Mr Trump can be heard asking Mr Inhofe "we're going to keep the name of Robert E Lee?"
Andrew Naughtie reports:
Trump says mail-in ballots will lead to 'greatest election disaster in history'
Trailing Joe Biden in national and battleground state polls, Donald Trump escalated his criticism of mail-in voting on Friday by predicting November will bring the "greatest election disaster in history."
"It'll be fixed. It'll be rigged. ... People ought to get smart," the president said in an angry tone. "This is going to be the greatest election disaster in history. ... You won't know the election results for weeks, months, maybe years. Maybe you'll never know the election result."
John T Bennett reports:
CDC forecasts 173,000 coronavirus deaths in US by mid-August
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its estimate forecast amid the coronavirus pandemic.
It now projects the US will see a 173,000 coronavirus deaths by 22 August, with a possible range between 167,692 to 182,366 deaths.
"State-level ensemble forecasts predict that the number of reported new deaths per week may increase over the next four weeks in: Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, and Washington," the CDC said on its website.
The US hit the grim milestone of 150,000 deaths from the coronavirus this week, as cases continue to surge instates across the country.
Trump praises top Republican for challenging Dr Fauci in House hearing
Donald Trump praised Republican Jim Jordan for his line of questioning with Dr Fauci.
In a bizarre tweet, the president first praised the Republican before adding Dr Fauci also made "very good statements". The president, who has been vocal against Dr Fauci in recent weeks, seemed to change his tone by not fully speaking against the infectious diseases expert.
Here is our story about the exchange between Mr Jordan and Dr Fauci earlier today:
Trump administration and top Democrats to meet Saturday to discuss coronavirus relief package
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are expected to meet with Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Secretary fo Treasury Steven Mnuchin on Saturday to discuss the coronavirus relief package, NBC reports.
The Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill failed to reach an agreement this week about the upcoming package, meaning extra unemployment benefits will run out for Americans today.
Congress is expected to go into recess during the second week of August, further putting pressure on government officials to reach an agreement.
It was reported that no staff would be present during the talks between the Trump administration and the two top Democrats.
Jared Kushner scrapped national coronavirus strategy in political move to blame governors of Democrat states hit hardest, report claims
A national coronavirus strategy developed by a second taskforce led by Jared Kushner was shelved to score political points against Democrat governors, according to new reports in Vanity Fair.
In March, Mr Kushner was appointed to the taskforce, separate from the White House's official group led by Mike Pence, to develop a nationwide testing and supply plan.
Quoting an unnamed public-health expert in frequent contact with the taskforce, Vanity Fair reported that a member of Mr Kushner's team suggested a national plan was unnecessary and would not make sense politically because the virus had hit blue states hardest.
Justin Vallejo reports:
Trump boasts internal poll numbers as his approval declines
The president has now tweeted about his poll numbers after a new poll surfaced showing his approval rating at 34 per cent.
Donald Trump used his favourite poll site Rasmussen to claim he had 50 per cent approval among voters.
He then added that internal polling showed him doing better than other poll sites have published, but he didn't reveal any of those numbers.
Breaking news: Florida teenager arrested over hacking of celebrity Twitter accounts including Obama and Elon Musk
A 17-year-old "mastermind" behind the massive hack of high-profile Twitter accounts in an alleged bitcoin scam was arrested during an early morning raid in Florida on Friday.
The Tampa teenager is facing 30 felony charges over the "Bit-Con" hack of famous celebrities, politicians and business leaders including Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Barack Obama, and many others.
Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said the extensive fraud was sophisticated and used famous personalities to target regular Americans.
Justin Vallejo reports:
Obama is now on a head-on collision course with Trump to save the 2020 US election
Former president spoke partly about past, writes Andrew Buncombe, but also very much about present.
Trump targets top Democrats on failure for Congress to agree on coronavirus relief package
Donald Trump tweeted against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer after Democrats and Republicans failed to agree about what should be included in the next coronavirus relief package.
He accused Mr Schumer of blocking the $600 added unemployment benefit from the upcoming bill, a benefit that will expire today. But Republicans have actually been the ones against continuing the benefit, claiming it would not encourage unemployed workers to find another job.
It was also alleged by the president that Democrats were preventing $1,200 to $3,400 checks from being sent out to Americans.
Both Republicans and Democrats have struggled to agree about aspects of the coronavirus relief package. Some Republicans have pushed for Congress to decrease what is offered in the package in order to keep it under $1tn.
NBC News reported that Ms Pelosi and Mr Schumer would be meeting with Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin on Saturday to discuss the relief package.
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